Wednesday, September 28, 2011

NYPD Can Shoot Down Aircraft?

The New York City Police Department possesses the capability to shoot down any type of aircraft if the city experiences a 9/11-type of attack in which commercial airliners or other aircraft are used as Kamikazes.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told CBS TV news program 60 Minutes that the force had the “device and training” for such an attack and “would have some means to take down a plane in an extreme situation."

Police sources later admitted the NYPD owns a Barrett .50 caliber machine gun, which is fitted to a police helicopter for extra security such as when a U.S. president visits the city. The .50 caliber is used in Iraq and Afghanistan mounted on U.S. military Humvees and helicopters.

So while Chicago prepares to de-fund and mothball its helicopter Unit, New York is mounting .50 caliber machine guns to theirs. If they ever made this into a TV show, we imagine it be exactly like this:

84 Comments:

Anonymous said...

What is really amazing is that they have the technology and training and apparently the authorization to take an aircraft out of the sky...we can't even get any basic training except a streaming video! Good Luck with G8 or with any other kind of large incident. Again we will fly by the seat of our pants! OR....they think we are awesome already and can handle anything! I know if I wanted anyone to back me up, it would be another CPD officer...WE ARE AWESOME!

yes they have the .50 cal but the boss didnt actually answer the question. He admitted they had a 50 cal. The weapon they have that can take out ANY plane that is coming inbound are shoulder mounted stinger missles. There are certain officers in ESU who are police officers and current military who are the only ones qualified to use the weapon. Six officers are placed in three strategic places in the city operating as two man teams as to keep a protective "triangle" over the city at all times. These teams have been up 24-7 since early 2002... mostly around Manhattan(we think)... Obviously the department wont let us know where these officers are stationed but they have told us that they missles are stingers. Now thats pretty cool. T.J 33rd pct.

Come on, don't buy the hype. Barrett doesn't make machine guns. They make sniper rifles. There is no way that the NYPD is going to down an airliner with one. More importantly, they aren't going to bring down a plane into the middle of one of the boroughs there. The whole story smells.

A Barrett isn't a "machine gun". It's just a rifle that shoots the .50 BMG cartridge. It operates no differently than an AR-15 or Mini-14.

As far as shooting down an airliner, the Germans and Japanese had a hard time shooting down B-17s using REAL machine guns and 20mm and 30mm cannon. A typical airliner can fly something like 2-3 times as fast as a B-17. What's the top speed of the average police helicopter? Here's a hint: the average pre-WWII BIPLANE could leave one like it was standing still.

That first video is very like the CPD helicopter unit.....Ernest Borgnine was born in 1917, which would make him about the same age as Harry Holm. Ernest Borgnine can't fly worth a shit either, so that makes him even more like Harry Holm. Only difference I could find is that Ernest has lots of adoring fans and many people like him a lot. Harry Holm....not so much!!

The below excerpt is taken directly from the Inspector General's report:

Police Department – Eliminate the Marine and Helicopter UnitSavings: $6.2 millionThe Police Department’s Marine and Helicopter Unit is comprised of “two distinct operations: Marine Operations and Helicopter Operations.”[1] “Marine Operations personnel (all of whom are public safety divers) are the first responders to any maritime incident. Marine Operations personnel have three areas of responsibility. They are Search, Rescue, Recovery Operations, Law Enforcement and Homeland Security.”[2] The Helicopter unit has two helicopters, which among other activities, “play a large role in the homeland security field by having the ability to conduct aerial reconnaissance of target locations, and evaluating demonstrations and other large events.”[3]Under this option, the City would eliminate the marine and helicopter unit and its 51 budgeted positions with a total budgeted compensation of $6.2 million, assuming fringe benefits are 43 percent of salary. There would be additional equipment savings as the City would no longer have to maintain the police boats and helicopters.Proponents might argue that the duties of the marine unit could be performed by the Coast Guard and the Illinois Conservation police, which share the Chicago Marine Safety Station, the facility that currently houses the marine unit.[4] Others might argue that maintaining the City’s helicopters is expensive and that spending money on street cops provides a better public safety return. They might point to Indianapolis, which is considering getting rid of its police helicopter.[5]

Opponents might argue that the marine unit provides life-saving search and rescue operations that could not be completely replaced by the Coast Guard or Illinois Conservation police.[6] Additionally, others might argue that the helicopter unit is necessary because it serves not only Chicago, but assists the Cook County Sheriff and thus provides services to all of Cook County.[7]

Anonymous said...... we can't even get any basic training except a streaming video! Good Luck with G8 or with any other kind of large incident. Again we will fly by the seat of our pants! ...

9/28/2011 12:11:00 AM

By the time we face the G8/NATO in Chicago, Jersey boy will be Police Commissioner in NYC, with a little help from Rahm and BHO, but also with the caveat that much of the NYPD's Counter-Terrorism Unit be sent here to supplement our woefully shorthanded and under-trained CPD.

Rahm will count on many such additional borrowed LEOs and National Guard bodies to keep the national media from exposing what a horseshit job he is doing for the citizens of Chicago. After all, he wouldn't want the voters to get the impression that he isn't capable of running the city of Chicago before he gets them to vote for him for President!

We're not talking about machine guns here. The only thing that has a prayer to do what is described would be some kind of MANPADS system like a Stinger or some other shoulder launched SAM. And, there's that pesky little problem of 'what goes up must come down'...both the missile and its target. Finally, how are these secured so the Bad Guys can't suddenly make their lives easier?

Barrett Firearms does not make .50cal machine guns.They make .50BMG platforms in semi-automatic and bolt action rifles.Both of these would be piss poor choices for trying to shoot down aircraft,possible but not really practicle or the best choice.

I remember when the department stopped letting us take out shotguns. We used to have a holder that sat between the two bucket front seats. The barrel was pointed up and every month or so some idiot would pull the trigger to check to see if it was loaded and blew a hole in the roof. Can you imagine what would happen if they allowed these powerful weapons?

You know what's funny, people here are arguing what kind of weapon Barrett makes, I think you mumbleheads are missing the point of the thread. Looking around at the gene-pool, maybe were better off without those kinds of weapons

NYPD has 79 Precincts and hired about 1600 cops this year with no intention of closing any stations. We hired what, 85 cops? And we're talking about closing 2 stations. We are worlds apart from the policing done in NYC and GMac knows it. But like many before him he's a puppet on a string so don't expect anything positive to happen. We'll pay the price, if our luck doesn't hold out, next May.

When I first read the article, I was thinking that NYPD was given shoulder-fired, guided missles or something by the US military in case they needed to shoot down a terrorist aircraft.

I'm not an expert marksman, but I doubt anyone would be able to shoot down a large, multi-engined aircraft traveling 500mph, and hundreds if not thousands of feet in the air, with a semi-automatic rifle (50 cal or not).

It would take a military-style 50 cal. large machine gun to even have a chance shooting down an airplane.

Come on, don't buy the hype. Barrett doesn't make machine guns. They make sniper rifles. There is no way that the NYPD is going to down an airliner with one. More importantly, they aren't going to bring down a plane into the middle of one of the boroughs there. The whole story smells.

They might get lucky and close up on a Piper Cub and get hits in the engine or cockpit, but it'd only be possible to MAYBE take down an airliner if you had advance warning enough and were in a position to get into its flight path, hover there, and start shooting for the cockpit with explosive rounds. Given the closing speed, you'd only have a few seconds; hardly enough time to acquire the target in the 'scope for even one attempt at a shot.

No way are they going to catch up with something going 500-600 MPH.

In film of the WTC attacks, one jet appears without warning in the far upper right of a cameraman's viewfinder, streaks across, and slams into the tower before anyone can even yell "HOLY S__T."

"Unworkable" is the word I'm looking for.

The Barrett .50 BMG semi-auto rifle is a fine weapon in its place but this sounds like more "show" than "go," as best I can try to envision it. Movie stuff.

Man-portable, ground-to-air missiles deployed around an area you want to protect might have a better chance. They know this already. I believe the Secret Service has had LAWS for a long time, and probably more sophisticated heat-seekers now.

I'm surprised that Ronnie Barrett hasn't repo'd his gun from the city of New York. At the very least he should refuse to support or service the gun if it needs repairs. Just like in California when the police departments started trotting out those big bad 50 cals.

I own one, they're not so bad, but I don't live in a commie state that doesn't allow "mere mortal citizens" to own them.

Meanwhile, in other news....did maggie use her police limo service to go to the doctor today because no-one in the family cares about her enough to take her....and what about the alderman's taxpayer provided drivers...they had a quite day I'll bet. Must be nice.

"Will not stop a truck cold,sorry.Set it on fore [fire?] yes,Fuck the engine up,yes,but will not STOP the vehicle."

9/28/2011 10:08:00 AM

Barrett .50 is tasked as "sniper, anti-sniper, anti-materiel." You're the one pretending that I mean "instant stop" on a truck. Use your brain. By the time the thing is burning, has severe damage to engine, driver and helper blown all over inside of cab, and lurches to a halt alongside the road -- hopefully holding up a column -- it is no longer an asset.

Jeez, give it a minute or so. By now, the motherf__er is what they call "stopped."

"Stick with airsoft so you dont get anyone killed."

It works in the field, not in picky little word-game environments on computer screens. You know exactly what I mean.

"yes they have the .50 cal but the boss didnt actually answer the question. He admitted they had a 50 cal. The weapon they have that can take out ANY plane that is coming inbound are shoulder mounted stinger missles. There are certain officers in ESU who are police officers and current military who are the only ones qualified to use the weapon. Six officers are placed in three strategic places in the city operating as two man teams as to keep a protective "triangle" over the city at all times. These teams have been up 24-7 since early 2002... mostly around Manhattan(we think)... Obviously the department wont let us know where these officers are stationed but they have told us that they missles are stingers. Now thats pretty cool."

T.J 33rd pct.

--9/28/2011 12:16:00 AM

Yeah, I can dig that. Makes a lot more sense. I said before about Secret Service having LAWS, I meant Stingers. Big guidance box bulging off to the side. Name just didn't come to mind.

Barrett could come into play against an active shooter up in some window, some car somewhere...nothing says you can't land the helo, get the gun into position on the ground or on a building where it's needed.

I just don't see it. I think they'll be hard pressed to find a supervisor willing to give them permission to take down an airliner in today's society. They likely won't have much time to make their decision and it will be over before they know it. I applaud the effort though.

Before the G-8 Summit can I please have a respirator/gas mask? Where are the 13,000 that the Feds provided us? Does the city have any clue about how undermanned, unprepared and most import unmotivated we are. We have been screaming for help but yet no one hears us. There is NO WAY anyone with any common sense would lift a finger to help a city gov't that uses them as a punching bag. We are officially done and unless the mayhem spreads to 22 or 16, Fuck You!

An almost child-line misconception of what a Barrett .50 will do... There is a 0.00% chance any .50 rifle could stop a 9/11 style attack. Absolute Zero.

Of course, that's part of the agenda. You first create your own facts in the media to generate hysteria, then you cite those same facts as the basis for taking action. In this case, it would be "The NYPD is using Barrett rifles in an anti-aircraft role... Should we allow these to be sold so the terrorists can get ahold of one?"

No one bothers to address the reality of a situation- that a Barrett isn't an aircraft weapon, but now that it's been reported in the media, it's met the "Wikipedia Quality Control Standard" and shall evermore be defined thusly, in the minds of the rabble.

I wish there was an island populated only by people who weren't fucking stupid. I'd pack up and go live there.

We have anti-aircraft capabilities in #007.We have some bungee strapped between two CTA signs and we pull it back with streets and sans garbage truck and launch junebug at the impending plane with an old Iver Johnson .32 breaktop with one round of ammo.

Before the G-8 Summit can I please have a respirator/gas mask? Where are the 13,000 that the Feds provided us?--------------------The city discovered recently that instead of gas masks the contractor supplied 13,000 pink balaclavas. The city is currently working to resolve this problem so each officer can be properly equipped for the upcoming G8 event.

A contract has been let to resolve the issue. A large number of vacuum cleaner bags have been procured along with duct tape and super glue to upgrade the purchased items. Underprivileged urban youth and undocumented immigrants will be employed in making the upgrades. Fear not.

Unfortunately, maybe it will take a out of control incident like what happened in Seattle to illustrate to Emmanuel that proper staffing and equipping of law enforcement is important. This dept has been gutted and is not fully manned or equipped to deal with mass civil unrest.Say what you want about old man Daley, but he had enough PO's in 68 to do what was needed to keep order.The cow will have to be in the pasture before they close the barn door. NYPD learned a bitter lesson. But they learned it well. It's going to take a catastrophy for the 5th floor to realize how important public safety is.